Nev. Admin. Code § 534.500

Current through October 11, 2024

Section 534.500 - Assessment of demerit points against license of well driller; suspension and reinstatement of license; removal of demerit points

1. The Division shall assess demerit points against the license of a licensed well driller who is found by the State Engineer to have violated any provision of this chapter or chapter 534 of NRS pursuant to the following table:

Classification of Violations	Maximum Demerits
Notice of Intent/Approval
Setting up a well rig or commencing drilling, plugging or rehabilitation before a notice of intent is approved by the Division as required by NAC 534.320..........................	50
Failing to notify the Division or obtain approval from the Division as required by NAC 534.370 if drilling is suspended or drilling equipment is moved from the drilling site before a well is completed or plugged ...............................................................................	50
Well Driller's Report
Failing to furnish a copy of a Well Driller's Report to the State Engineer as required by NRS 534.170, intentionally making a material misstatement of fact in a Well Driller's Report submitted to the State Engineer pursuant to NRS 534.170 or intentionally making a material misstatement of fact in an amendment to a Well Driller's Report submitted to the State Engineer pursuant to NRS 534.170....................................................................................................	75
Submitting a Well Driller's Report to the State Engineer pursuant to NRS 534.170 more than 30 days after a well is completed .....................	10
Submitting a Well Driller's Report to the State Engineer pursuant to NAC 534.420 more than 30 days after a water well has been plugged ............................................................................................	10
Licenses Intentionally making a material misstatement of fact in an application for a well-drilling license .....................................................................................	100
A well driller failing to have the well driller's license card in his or her possession at a drilling site or failing to produce the license card when requested to do so by a representative of the Division as required by NAC 534.330....................................................................................	10
Failing to have a licensed well driller directly supervise at a well drilling site when a drill rig is in operation or when any activity involving the construction, rehabilitation or plugging of the well is conducted as required by NAC 534.330. (Demerit points will be assessed against the license of the principal well driller for the well-drilling company and against the license of the well driller listed on the notice of intent.) ..................................................................................................................	50
Well construction and plugging
Failing to comply with any provision of this chapter which establishes standards for the construction, rehabilitation or plugging of a well, including, without limitation, improperly placing the annular seal, constructing a well with substandard well casing, using improper products or procedures during the construction, rehabilitation or plugging of a well and failing to protect against contamination................	75
Failing to make a well accessible to measurements of the water level of the well as required by NAC 534.430...................................................	30
Failing to prevent, control or stop the flow of water from an artesian well as required by NRS 534.060 and NAC 534.378................................	30
Approvals
Failing to comply with the requirements of NRS 534.065 when drilling a replacement well.............................................	25
Failing to comply with any term or condition of a permit, waiver or order issued by the State Engineer concerning the drilling or plugging of a well as required by NAC 534.330, including, without limitation, the depth of the annular seal, the location of perforations and the minimum or maximum depth of the well.................	50
Miscellaneous
Any other violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 534 of NRS .........................................................................................................	To be determined by the Division based on the severity of the violation, but not to exceed 100

2. The Division shall assess demerit points against the license of a well driller only:

(a) After the State Engineer makes a finding that the well driller has violated a provision of this chapter or chapter 534 of NRS as provided in subsection 1;

(b) After the Division gives written notice of an alleged violation to the well driller by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the well driller which specifies the provision of this chapter or chapter 534 of NRS that the well driller is alleged to have violated;

(c) If, within 30 days after the date on which the well driller receives a notice of an alleged violation sent pursuant to paragraph (b), the well driller has failed to respond to the notice of an alleged violation or provides a response to the notice of an alleged violation that is unsatisfactory, as determined by the Division; and

(d) After the conditions set forth in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) are satisfied, regardless of when the violation occurred.

3. If a licensed well driller accumulates 169 or more demerit points, the State Engineer will, after giving notice and holding a hearing pursuant to NRS 534.160 to determine that the violations which resulted in the demerit points occurred, require the licensed well driller to comply with specified conditions imposed on his or her license or suspend or revoke the license of the well driller indefinitely.

4. If the State Engineer suspends or revokes the license of a well driller, the Division shall notify the well driller that his or her license is suspended or revoked, as applicable, and the well driller is prohibited from engaging in any activity for which a well-drilling license issued pursuant to NRS 534.140 is required until the license of the well driller is reinstated.

5. A well driller whose license has been suspended pursuant to subsection 3 may have the license reinstated if:

(a) The well driller satisfies the requirements set forth in subsection 2 of NAC 534.293;

(b) the State Engineer finds that the well driller is competent to engage in the practice of well drilling in the State of Nevada; and

(c) The well driller resolves any outstanding complaints related to his or her license as a well driller to the satisfaction of the Division. 6. An order revoking the license pursuant to subsection 3 is final unless an action for review is filed pursuant to NRS 533.450.

7. The Division shall reduce the number of demerit points accumulated against the license of a well driller whose license has been suspended or revoked pursuant to subsection 3 and reinstated to zero.

8. Demerit points assessed against the license of a well driller may be removed by the Division as follows:

(a) Five demerit points may be removed for each credit unit of continuing education approved by the Division and successfully completed by the well driller, as determined by the Division up to a maximum of 50 points per year. The credit units of continuing education that must be completed for the purposes of the removal of demerit points pursuant to this paragraph are in addition to those required by NAC 534.2923.

(b) One-half of the demerit points assessed against the license of a well driller may be removed if the well driller is determined by the State Engineer to not have violated a provision of this chapter or chapter 534 of NRS for the entire year after the demerits were assessed.

(c) Twenty demerit points may be removed if the well driller takes and passes the written examination for a license as a well driller. The Division may remove demerit points pursuant to this paragraph once every year.

(d) All the demerit points assessed against the license of a well driller will be removed if, following the assessment of the last demerit against the license of the well driller, the well driller is not assessed any demerit points for 4 years.

Nev. Admin. Code § 534.500

Added to NAC by St. Engineer by R009-06, eff. 6-1-2006; A by R044-14, eff. 10/24/2014; A by R068-20A, eff. 12/29/2020; A by R068-20CAP, eff. 6/23/2021

NRS 534.020, 534.110